Storeowners who sold $1bn lotto ticket say winner is a local

The Los Angeles storeowners who sold Wednesday night’s $1 billion Powerball ticket believe the winner is an elderly woman from their local community.

That woman — who has so far remained anonymous — won $1.08 billion from a ticket she bought at Las Palmitas Mini Market, a modest store in the city’s downtown Fashion District, owned by Nabor Herrera and his family since 2017.

Herrera’s stepdaughter, Angelica Menjivar, proudly told The Post the winner is a part of the local Latin community.

“Hispanic lady, an old lady,” Menjivar said. “100% a Latina.”

Menjivar said her family would be reviewing security footage to confirm their suspicions of who they think it is Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a lot of money for her, which is great, god bless her,” she added.

The winner has up to a year to claim their prize, and will be given the choice to take the full $1.08 billion prize paid out over incrementally over 29 years (roughly $39 million per year), or walk away with $558.1 million up front.

Menjivar and her family are also walking away with a chunk of change from the drawing — California law gives the sellers of winning Powerball tickets .5% of the jackpot, although its capped a $1 million, which the family will be awarded.

Celebrations at the store Thursday were dramatically interrupted by a woman who ran into the minimarket screaming that she was the winner.

The lady won, who shocked the assembled crowd as well as the store workers, dropped to her knees crying “God bless you” and hugging staff, then ran off. However, she then ran off without showing a ticket or giving her name, according to footage from KNX News. It remains unclear whether she truly is the winner.

Asked what her family planned to do with the cash from selling the ticket, Menjivar laughed and said “We don’t have no plans right now.”

“Keep it for later for school for our daughters,” Menjivar suggested they might do.

Her family didn’t realize they’d sold the winning ticket until Herrera showed up for work early Thursday morning and found his shop swarmed with news trucks and reporters.

“It’s a surprise for me, I didn’t know what it is — filming or what,” Herrera told KTLA 5.

Herrera said he’ll probably take his family on a big vacation, and maybe put some cash back into the business.

Wednesday’s winning numbers were 7, 10, 11, 13, 24, and the red Powerball number 24, which hit after 32 unsuccessful drawings since April 19.

Although odds for winning the Grand Prize jackpot are a staggeringly minute at 1 in 292 million, California has certainly lived up to its name as the Golden State, with winners in the state of the three largest prizes in Powerball history.

The biggest Powerball winner of all time, Edwin Castro, of Los Angeles suburn Altadena, took home $2.04 billion in November 2022, while a $1.58 billion prize was shared between three ticket holders in California, Tennessee and Florida.